The Created
by A.S.Amalon
Summary: An actual update! Two extremely short chapters, but it's still an update! The real action is coming soon, I guarantee it!
1. Four Six Three

**Disclaimer: I am not KAA, and I do not own the Animorphs or any related names. ;)**

**A/N: This is my first fanfic posted on FFN, so please read and review. If I get enough reviews, I'll post my other fanfics and more chapters of this one. Thanks, Alara-Sirinial-Amalon**

"Number Four-Six-Three!" the voice called over the speaker. "What do you think you are doing?"

            I looked down at the small book that I had been writing in. "I am completing my journal entry for the day, sir."

            The speaker crackled. "Very good. Carry on."

            "Another day of my life, gone," I muttered as I wrote. "I live out my life in this bland room, never seeing the light of day. I have never seen another being in my entire life. What do I even look like? I cannot see my own reflection. They make sure of that. I could be blue with green hair, for all I know. I speak to these scientists by way of a communication device. Why must they study me? I feel that I am no different from any other being on this planet. But then again, I don't know anything about them, except for what I read. I write this every day, hoping that I may convince the scientists to let me out. But my hopes are fading as I near my seventeenth birthday. If they don't let me out to experience the world by then, then they never would."

            I put my pen down on the bed and laid the journal by the small opening at the bottom of the door. A hand reached in and grabbed it. 

            They let me see a hand. They must be getting careless.

            A sheet of paper slipped through the opening.

                        _Four-Six-Three,_

_                                    Your whining will not convince us to let you out._

_                                                                        --Jake_

            Why couldn't I have a normal name like that? Why am I just a number?

            "Four-Six-Three," the speaker began, "please report to the testing room."

            That startled me. "I am to leave this room, sir?"

            "You were given orders. You must follow them."

            Two people dressed in black from head to toe escorted me to the testing room.

            I was locked in another room, this time with a computer screen. It was an LCD screen, so I couldn't see my own reflection.

            I sat down in the chair and waited for my orders. At the table in front of me were various objects that I recognized from pictures: a baseball, a paperclip, a penny, and a dollar bill.

            "Four-Six-Three?" a voice asked from behind me.

            I turned to find another black-clothed person.

            "Yes?"

            "You are to complete this task which you have been training for your entire life. This is to prove if you will be right for a much larger task that we have in store for you. Today, we will find out if your creation was a mistake."

            "Creation?"

            "Genetics. You know all about that, I assume, considering the amount of reading material you consume. You are a 'super human', created in a laboratory."

            "So I'm human?"

            The figure nodded. "Mostly, but by far stronger than any real human."

            I sighed. I knew it was true. Deep down, I'd always known it. "What's my task?"

            "I want you to change into your other form. Rip the baseball open with your claws. Then I want you to take the paperclip and levitate it with your mind. You can do that, I am told. After that, I want you to take the penny, hold it in your fist, and melt it. As for the dollar bill…I will explain that to you when you complete your task."

            "Other form?"

            "You know what I am talking about."

            I nodded. I understood. I closed my eyes and felt the familiar sensation as layers of muscle were added to my body. I felt my retractable claws form and my teeth become sharp. My vision and hearing became more acute. My sense of smell was far powerful than any human's.

            The black figure pressed itself against the wall. Obviously, it was scared of me.

            It was a nice feeling.

            I turned to the task at hand. Rip up that pathetic baseball? No problem. I was well-equipped for doing things like that. Levitating the paper clip? I had been doing things like that since I was four. As for the penny, I handed the hot lump of copper to the black figure as I returned to my normal body.

            I stared at the person as I stuck my hand out behind me. The dollar bill automatically landed in it, as things always did.

            "Who are you?" I asked him.

            He pulled off the mask, and I finally saw what a human looked like. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. He was very professional looking, I suppose. I wouldn't know.

            "So this is a human?" I said, circling him. "Not very interesting."

            The door opened, and more black figures stepped in. One by one, they removed their masks. 

            I circled them, which seemed to make them nervous. One woman was writing something. I took it from her, and read it aloud:

            " 'The young girl circles us as if she was a predator, stalking her prey'. Is that what you think I am? Some kind of animal?"

            She cleared her throat. "Actually, you are our planet's only chance for survival. You are to form a group of six, including yourself. You and your group will fight our enemy. Right now, you are to read all of the information we have on this enemy."

            "What am I supposed to do with this?" I asked, holding up the dollar.

            The scientists looked at each other, excited.

            "Four-Six-Three, you are about to try your first human soda," one of them said.

            I was nervous as they handed me a cold bottle of brown carbonated liquid and took my dollar.

            "She just made her first purchase," one said proudly.

            I drank the soda quickly. I closed the bottle and handed it to the nearest person.

            They looked at me expectantly.

            "It was okay," I said. "Actually it was a lot better than anything I've ever consumed in my life."

            "Um, Jake?" one woman said to the man who had watched me complete my task. "I think you need to work with her on vocabulary. She sounds like an alien."

            He motioned for me to follow him out of the room. We stepped in a smaller room with a table and two chairs. I sat in one and he closed the door.

            "Jake?" I asked. "I have a question for you."

            He smiled. "Anything."

            "What do I look like?"

            He laughed.

            "No, this isn't funny. I know what you look like, I know what the other people looked like, but I have never seen my own face."

            He realized that I was serious. He pulled a small communication device from his clothing and called for something called a "mirror".

            "What is a mirror?"

            "It's a device to see one's reflection."

            An older man entered the room and handed Jake a mirror, which he then handed to me.

            I looked at it and saw a young female with light brown hair and green eyes. She was pretty.

            "Is that me?"

            Jake nodded. "Now why don't you take a look at your other form."

            I changed and looked into the mirror. I saw the same female, but slightly altered. Her eyes were darker and the pupils were similar to those of a cat. I opened my mouth and revealed two rows of sharp teeth. I moved the mirror away from my body and saw the muscles up and down my body.

            "This is amazing," I said.

            He smiled and took the mirror from me. "You are amazing."

            "I'm a walking killing machine."

            "You are a wonderful new species."

            I glared at him and he jumped back, his chair scraping the floor.

            "You're scared of me."

            "Yes I am."

            "What have I ever done to you?"

            "Nothing."

            "Then why do you back away?"

            "We know nothing about you. You are unknown territory."

            I laughed. It was a harsh, guttural sound. "And you people trust me to save your planet?"

            "It's your planet too."

            "No. I do not have a planet. If I had a planet, I would be living in it, participating in it. Not stuck here in this place. If it was my planet, I would go to a normal school, have a normal name. I wouldn't be a number in the world. I would be identified by a combination of letters that formed an identification tag."

            "I'm sorry."

            I was on a roll. "No. Don't apologize. I understand that I was created by scientists in a lab. I understand that I was created for one purpose only and that as soon as I complete my task, I will be eliminated. But I am a person. A living, breathing person. I don't care what you think, but you took almost seventeen years of life away from me."

            "I understand, but—"

            "No. If you were in my shoes, would you be content to just serve your purpose and then die?"

            He shook his head. "No I wouldn't."


	2. Know Your Enemy and Yourself

            "Yeerks," I read aloud. "Parasites. They take over people's bodies by entering through the ear and controlling the brain. Slug-like in appearance. They invaded Earth over two decades ago, only to be stopped by the Animorphs, led by Jake Berenson…"

            I turned and looked at Jake. "You?"

            He nodded. "Eighteen years ago, the Yeerks returned. We weren't ready, and we didn't want to deal with another war that fast. We can't fight as well as we used to. I mean, everything's different now. Rachel's gone, Cassie's with Ronnie and their family, Marco has his own family, Tobias is trapped as a human. Ax is some big hotshot on his planet after he was saved from The One. I used to be a teacher, but now I'm working here."

            "Why didn't you just gather another group of kids and make them Animorphs?"

            He shook his head. "No. The Yeerks were smarter this time. More aggressive." He laughed. "It turns out that we're the best species around for infestation. By now, well over one-quarter of Earth's population are Controllers. I knew that no normal human could take on the job of beating the Yeerks. Not the way they are now."

            "So you created me. That's what I'm for."

            "Yes. We knew we needed somebody who could handle this war. You are physically unable to be infested by a Yeerk. I don't know how, and neither do the scientists. It was a side effect. Your DNA is a combination of the living Animorphs."

            "I'm supposed to be you and your friends?"

            "So far, you have inherited the traits that we wanted you to get. Or so the other scientists say. Supposedly, you have my leadership skills, Cassie's morality, Marco's sense of humor, Tobias's seriousness, and Ax's brain. Actually, it looks like you have his eyes as well."

            "You must have high expectations for me," I said. "You took all of the Animorphs' best qualities and tried to make a person. It looks like you've succeeded."

            He looked at me strangely, like I reminded him of someone.

            I knew who it was.

            "I remind you of Rachel."

            "That can't be possible. You don't have any of her DNA."

            "The two of you must have been more alike than you thought."

            He thought about that for a moment, and, slowly, a smile spread across his face. "Maybe you're right."

            He got up from his chair and opened a cabinet. Inside of it was a harmless-looking blue box.

            "Four-Six-Three, welcome to the Animorphs."

            I started to reach out to touch the cube, but pulled my hand away. "Not until I have a name. No more 'Four-Six-Three'. I don't care what you call me…actually I do care."

            "Serenity."

            "That's ironic."

            "I know. That's my point."

            "Fine. Have it your way. My name is Serenity. I was born in a test tube March 3, 2015. I am a freak. And insane."

            He laughed. "Yeah, that about wraps it up. So, Fou—I mean Serenity, are you going to touch this or not? It's heavier than it looks."

            "I get to risk my butt every day until the Yeerks are gone…sounds like fun."

            I reached out and held my hand over the cube, not touching it yet.

            "Well?" Jake asked.

            "Why do I need this? I can already change."

            "Another side effect. You need to be able to morph."

            I shrugged and placed my hand on the box. It tingled.

            He pulled the communication device from his pocket again.

            "Hey guys," he said to it, "meet the newest Animorph."  

            The door opened and two men, one woman, and one Andalite walked in.

            "Congratulations," the African-American girl said to me. I recognized her from the pictures. Her name was Cassie.

            "Yeah, congratulations," Marco said, patting me on the shoulder. "And good luck; you're going to need it."

            "Why? Will I have to see you every day?"

            He held his hand to his chest. "Ah, she got me." He fell to the floor.

            Jake laughed. "I haven't heard anything like that since…"

            "Since Rachel," Tobias finished.

            Everybody became silent.

            "Okay," I began, "so I get to play 'round-up gang' and find some more people?"

!!!!!!!!!!! 


	3. Six Hork Bajir Down

            Jake and the other Animorphs led me out of the building. I shielded my eyes as I walked through the door. The sun was bright.

            "How can you people see anything?" I asked. "It hurts my eyes."

            "Just wait a few minutes," Cassie's voice said. "Your eyes will adjust to it soon."

            Slowly, my eyes began to get used to the light. I looked up and saw a blue sky with white fluffy clouds. I saw three birds fly overhead.

            "Where are we?" I asked. "This looks like a desert or something."

            The Animorphs looked at each other, smiling.

            "Actually, it _is_ a desert. But it doesn't matter where we are now, since you aren't returning here," Jake said. "You are going to be a normal teenager who lives in a house and goes to school."

            "I have to go to school _every day_?"

            Marco laughed. "The girl hasn't even been to school yet and she already hates it."

            "I didn't mean that, Marco," I said, glaring at him. "Going to school should be fun."

            "Good," Jake said. "Because you start tomorrow. Everything's ready for you at home."

            I thought about that. "Wait a minute…I'm living with _you_?"

            He shrugged. "Why not? I live alone, and it's a pretty big house for just one person. After we stop by and get you in some normal-looking clothes, we can go to The Gardens and get you some morphs."

            I followed them around the back of the building and saw an SUV. I sat in the front passenger's seat with Jake next to me as the driver. I waited for him to start the car, but he turned to me instead.

            "How about a driving lesson? Most kids your age drive."

            "Me?" I squeaked. I recovered quickly. "Sure."

            He and I switched places and I started the car.

            Marco groaned from the back seat. "Please don't let her drive like me. Please. If she does, we're all going to die. My daughter drives like me, and now I know how you guys felt whenever I was behind the wheel."

            Ax, in human morph, looked at him strangely. "Why does this bother you? Oooo."

            I'd read enough about driving that I knew what to do, so I put the car in drive and pushed the gas pedal.

            Everybody fell back into his or her seats. It scared me, so I slammed on the brake, and everybody went forward.

            "So far, so good," Marco said nervously. "She hasn't hit anything yet."

            "There's nothing to hit, Marco," Tobias replied sensibly.

            Marco looked out the window. "Oh."

            I calmed myself down and tried again, this time going a little slower.

            "See, that's good. You're getting the hang of it," Jake said. "Just drive straight until you see the road. Then we'll switch."

            When we reached the road, I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd only had two close encounters with cacti, and probably scratched the vehicle a lot, but we were okay.

            As Jake drove down the road, I turned around to talk to the others. 

            "Are you sick?" I asked Ax, who was looking green. 

He nodded.

            "Oh, gross," Marco said, who was next to him. "Jake, man, if he blows, your new car won't be so 'new-car scented'. It will be 'puke-city scented'. Maybe he should demorph or something."

            Jake pulled over and Ax got out quickly. I watched as his skin turned blue and began to sprout fur. I saw two extra legs sprout as well as a tail. Within a few moments, he was fully Andalite.

            I feel much better now, he said in our heads.

            "It's thought-speech," Jake informed me. "We can use it while in morph."

            "Good, now let's get goi—" Marco began but was cut off when some kind of laser sliced the ground.

            "Animorphs!" a human cried. "I knew you were alive somewhere. Visser One will be pleased when I bring you in. He misses you."

            "Tobias, Serenity, I want you to run," Jake said.

            But I had a different idea. I began to change.

            Tobias grabbed my arm and pulled me away. "What are you doing? Look, there's half a dozen Hork-Bajir over there! Let the others handle this."

            Cassie began to morph to wolf, Jake to tiger, and Marco to gorilla.

            I freed myself from Tobias's grasp and ran at the nearest Hork-Bajir.

            What do you think you're doing? Marco cried, trying to pull me off of the beast. I looked at him and he let go. Jake, she's going to rip that thing to pieces! Look at her! She has her claws dug into its arms!

            I clamped my jaws around the Hork-Bajir's neck and he fell to the ground. Next to me, Ax's tail blade was flying, hitting a larger one. I tackled it from behind and clawed it up, which was what Jake was doing to another one.

            Once all the Hork-Bajir were down, the human wasn't so cocky. He kept looking at me, then back to the others. I growled, and he ran away, screaming for his life.

            "That was exciting," I said. "Let's do that again!"

!!!!!! 


	4. A New Home

**A/N: Silver Eyed, you're right about what you said. They _are _cousins, but throughout the series, I noticed some similarities between the two characters' personalities. In #54, the characters notice those similarities because Rachel is gone. In this, over two decades have passed, and the other characters are seeing similarities because Serenity is acting just a tiny bit like Rachel (the combination of DNA may have caused a tiny bit of it—that may be in a future chapter, I don't know yet)—And about the name, I just was thinking of a name that would completely contrast with her personality, and I figured that she was definitely not 'serene' (calm, tranquil, pacific, peaceful—none of those would make a good name), so that's why I chose 'Serenity'.Thank you for your comments and reviews. I really appreciate them. I'm open to suggestions about the plot or anything. Just e-mail or IM them to me (see my bio). I'll keep posting more chapters as soon as I write them!**

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Everybody stared at me in silence.

Then they walked back to the car.

"What? What did I do?" I cried, following them. "Did I say something wrong?"

I jumped in the car and we took off down the road.

"No, you didn't say something wrong," Jake said, staring straight ahead.

"Then what's the problem?" I asked as we got onto the freeway.

Marco had the answer. "You're too Rachel-ish. It's scary, because you actually love what you're doing. You just jumped on the back of a fully-grown male Hork-Bajir that could have sliced you into millions of tiny pieces! You're insane! Crazy. Nuts. Wacko."

I was a little angry, and when I'm angry, I lash out at people. "So lock me up. It won't be any different from how my life has been so far."

"Marco," Tobias began, "Serenity is our only chance of beating those Yeerks once and for all. You've said it before: you're too old to fight. I guess you're right, if you consider forty to be old. But you can fight if you have to. I'm stuck here, in this morph, a _nothlit_ again, because my hawk body got too old. So I think you need to lay off."

"Jake," Marco whined like a two-year old, "Tobias is being mean to me."

"_Marco_," Jake warned, looking at him in the rearview mirror. Marco slumped down in his seat.

"Prince Jake, are you going to tell Serenity why she is to reside at your house?" Ax asked, changing the subject.

"Don't call me Prince," Jake responded automatically.

I looked at Ax, and he grinned. Marco was stifling a laugh.

"Yes, Prince Jake."

Maybe Andalites _do_ have a sense of humor.

Jake sighed. "It never ends, does it? Well…okay, I'll tell you. Serenity, you are going to live at my house not because I live alone, but because, as of last month, I am your legal guardian."

"But it's only for one year, right?" I asked him. "I mean, most children move out when they're eighteen."

"When you're eighteen, you may do whatever you want. Leave, stay, whatever. Move to the other end of the world if you want to. I just offered you a place to stay. I will provide food, clothing, shelter, whatever. You name it, you've got it," Jake said.

"So if I wanted a…a…Ferrari…yeah, that's it. If I wanted one of those, would I get it?"

Jake laughed, and I thought for sure that he would say yes.

"Absolutely not."

Marco cracked up in the back seat.

Jake looked at me, then back to the road. "Not unless I get one first."

Tobias, Jake, and I all started to laugh.

Ax was confused. "I do not understand. What is a Ferrari? Arrreee. Eee."

Tobias calmed down. "I'll explain it when we get home, Ax-man."

We turned into a large neighborhood with very large houses. Jake pulled into the driveway of the largest one.

I got out of my seat, and took my first look at my new home.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Marco said from the front door. "Come on in."

I walked through the door and stepped into a different world. His house was magnificent. He didn't decorate anything, I noticed. In each room was some basic furniture. Maybe a picture here and there. That was it.

Until we got to my room.

It was well furnished, and the walls were sky blue, which was my favorite color. Along one wall were thousands of books. In one corner was a laptop computer, printer, everything. Inside the closet were at least a hundred outfits, maybe more.

"I think I got the sizes right," Jake said. "I hope. I don't want to have to take all of those back. It was hard getting them here in the first place."

I looked at one of the shirts. It was cute.

"They're perfect, Jake. This entire house is absolutely perfect. I'll be delighted to live with you," I said, hugging him.

He looked down at me and said, "I'll be delighted to have you live with me too."


	5. Going to School

A/N: Hey guys! Wow. I haven't updated in a while, have I? Well, this chapter isn't very eventful. I decided I needed a transitional chapter to introduce a new character and one of our old favorites. I needed a way to connect my idea for chapter four and a new idea for six, so chapter five was created as that connection. Chapter six will be done soon and uploaded as soon as I finish it. If anybody has any ideas or suggestions for where this fic should go, e-mail me at: earthsonlyhope2004@yahoo.com. All reviews are appreciated. I hope you all like this chapter, though it is a little boring.

 "Jake," I began as we entered his house, "what did that Controller mean when he said that Visser One missed you? I don't get it."

            He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I don't know. It's not exactly a good time."

            "Look, I'm sorry about the tiger. It's just…he looked at me, I looked at him, he came running, I changed, we fought, and nobody won. I acquired him and left."

            "He needed stitches."

            "I needed them too. Did you see the way he tore my arm off?"

            He walked to the kitchen and pulled a soda from the refrigerator. "Yes. I believe that I was the one who had to pull the two of you apart."

            "Sorry."

            He laughed and handed me a soda. "It's okay. Do you want me to order a pizza or something?"

            "Sure…what's a pizza?"

            "Just trust me. You'll like it."

            He ordered the pizza and the doorbell rang.

            Jake went to get it. "I invited someone over to meet you."

            He opened the door and let the man inside. He looked a lot like Jake, except a little shorter.

            But something about him was different. I could feel it. Automatically, my body changed.

            Jake saw me. "Hold on Serenity. Erek's a friend. An ally, so to speak."

            "Jake," Erek began, "let me talk to her." He walked up to me and looked me in the eyes. "Do I look like I'm going to hurt you?"

            There was a certain odor to him. Almost…metallic, it seemed.

            I shook my head as I changed back. "No you don't."

            Jake steered me to a couch and I sat down. He and Erek sat across from me.

            "Serenity, this is Erek. He's a Chee."

            "A what?"

            "Serenity, I'm an android. A Chee," Erek said and told me the story of the Pemalites.

            I had tears running down my face when he finished. "I'm so sorry."

            He held up his hand. "I don't believe that's why I'm here. I believe that I am supposed to get to know you."

            "My name's Serenity. Yours is Erek."

            "_Serenity_," Jake warned, "don't be sarcastic."

            "Yes, _Prince_ Jake," I joked.

            "Prince Jake my—" Jake began, but Erek clamped a hand over his mouth.

            The doorbell rang. I jumped up, ready to fight.

            "Whoa, calm down girl," Erek said and went to get the door.

            I turned to Jake. "Why aren't you answering it?"

            "There are Controllers who would love to turn me in to their Visser. Whoever that is at the moment. I have to keep a low profile. I answer the door in morph most of the time. Same thing with the phone. Voices are recognizable."

            "Are you Jake?" I heard the voice ask Erek.

            "You still use your name?" I asked Jake.

            He laughed and turned the television on. "You don't know how many Jake Berensons there are on this planet. My name was so famous that children were named after me. Adults changed their names. It was kind of flattering, actually."

            Erek returned with the pizza. The aroma met my nose, and…I don't know. I can't describe it.

            He sat down next to Jake and me. Jake got up and put on a movie. _Animorph_.

            "A movie about the Animorphs?" I asked. "That sounds very informational."

            "Aww, Jake, it's an _old_ movie," Erek whined through a mouthful of pizza.

            I noticed a figure looking through the window. Their eyes widened and they disappeared from sight.

            I ignored it and went back to my pizza, which was great. The movie wasn't half bad either. All I had to worry about was my first day at school.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            "Now remember, you're Serenity Berenson," Jake said as I got out of his car in front of the school. All around me, teenagers were talking to each other, or walking into the building, or just looking tired.

            "Yes Jake, you've only said that forty million times on the way over here."

            "I'm just making sure you know. Do you have all of your things?"

            I sighed. "Yes, Jake. All I need to do is go to the office and pick up my schedule and locker assignment."

            "Then you have to find your first class."

            "I have a mouth. I'll ask."

            "Fine. Just go."

            I closed the door and he drove off.

            Ten minutes later, I found my locker. A blonde girl was opening the one next to mine.

            "Hi. Are you new? I haven't seen you around before," she said, putting a large book in her locker.

            I nodded and opened my locker. "I'm Serenity Berenson."

            "Any relation to Jake Berenson, the Animorph?"

            "In a way."

            She giggled. "That's good. Because I am totally in love with him!"

            "He's in his forties. You're almost thirty years younger than he is."

            She shrugged. "And your point is?"

            "How do you know about the Animorphs?" I asked skeptically. 

            She took my schedule from my hand and looked at it. "You're in my class. Good. We can talk all the way there. Oh, and by the way, I'm Emily." She led me up the stairs. "How do I know about the Animorphs? Doesn't everybody?"

            "I learned about them yesterday."

            She put her hand on my shoulder and steered me into a classroom. "You poor thing. Where have you been living all your life? In a cave?"

            "Something like that."

            She sat down in her seat and I walked up to the teacher. "Hi. I'm Serenity Berenson. I'm new here."

            "Any relation to Jake Berenson, the Animorph?"

            I rubbed my forehead. It was going to be a _long_ day.

**A/N: Well, it was a little boring. And short. Sorry about that. I just needed to introduce a couple people into the story. Chapter six should be a lot better. We meet Marco's daughter, who is, shall we say, very different from Marco. I won't say any more. ¡Hasta luego!**


	6. Let's hang with Marco

A/N: I know, chapter 5 was a little boring. This one is too. It's just…uneventful. Yeah, that's the word I'm looking for. I think I need sugar. Yeah, lots of it. That'll get my brain moving…I think.

The final bell of the day rang. I was relieved.

            A guy bumped into me as I was walking and knocked my books to the floor.

            "Hey, watch where you're going!" I yelled.

            "Marco is picking you up from school today. Jake wanted me to let you know."

            I stared at him. "Who are you?"

            "It's me. Erek. You know, from last night?"

            I raised an eyebrow. "Did Jake send you to spy on me? If he did, I'll—"

            "No. Not at all," he interrupted. "He just wanted me to tell you. He flew by while I was in math, saying that he wasn't able to find your class."

            "Flew? Oh. Never mind. Why Marco? Why not Ax, or Tobias, or Cassie? Why him?"

            He shrugged and handed me my books. "I have no idea. Just look for the guy with the sunglasses in a red convertible." He disappeared into the crowd.

            I found Marco waiting for me in the parking lot. In a red convertible, just as Erek had told me. 

            He removed his sunglasses. "What's up?"

            I looked up.

            "No, I mean 'how are you'…Never mind. You're just like Ax," he said with a smirk. "Hop in. We just need to wait for my wonderfully talkative and late daughter."

            A girl walked up and got into the passenger's seat. I recognized her from math class. Her name was Amy. "Hi Dad. Hey Serenity."

            "_You're_ Marco's daughter?"

            She nodded. "Yeah."

            "But you're so…so _serious_."

            "That's what I've always said," Marco informed me, pulling out into the street. "She's like her mother. But her little brother? Now that kid has a sense of humor."

            Amy turned to me and rolled her eyes. "He's annoying. All he does is tell jokes."

            "Who? Marco or your brother?"

            "I see you ended up with a little of his humor as well," she said. Then she must have seen the surprised look on my face. "Yes. I know all about you. Genetically created, locked up all your life. Was it horrible?"

            "I didn't know what humans looked like until yesterday. They gave me internet access, but removed all the pictures of humans. I had pictures of anything else. So my life was very boring. I communicated through a speaker system. Food was shoved through a hole in the bottom of the door. Yeah, it was terrible."

            She smacked her dad's shoulder as he pulled up in front of their house. "Dad, why did you people torture her like that?"

            "It wasn't me, it was all Jake's idea. His project," Marco defended. "Ask him about it later. Amy, Jake wants me to hang out with Serenity today. Maybe make her act more like a normal human."

            She shook her head and walked into her house.

            I crawled into the front seat. "Mind if I sit here?"

            He shook his head and drove us to an empty parking lot.

            "Uh, what are we doing here?" I asked.

            A feather pattern began to appear on his skin. "Just concentrate on becoming the hawk. Let the changes happen."

            I had acquired a red-tailed hawk the night before. I formed a picture of it in my mind and felt a sort of falling sensation as I started shrinking.

            It's okay, Serenity, Marco said. You'll get used to it.

            My bones became lighter and my mouth stretched out and hardened to form a beak. The feather pattern on my skin became three-dimensional. My vision and hearing became more acute. 

            I was a hawk.

            I opened my wings and took off out of Marco's car. Suddenly, I was being lifted higher and higher!

            Aaaaahhhhhhhh! I screamed. It's a tractor beam! Marco, save yourself!

            He laughed and circled above me. It's called a thermal, Serenity. Not a tractor beam. It's a rising pillar of warm air that you can use to climb higher without flapping so much.

            I felt embarrassed. Oh. Why are we doing this anyway? I thought you were to make me a normal human.

            I will later. Let's go find Tobias and Ax. Follow me. He banked left and I followed suit.

            Where are they? I asked, looking down at the ground.

            See the smoke? That's a barbecue. And see the man with the 'kiss the cook' apron and chef's hat? That would be Ax.

            I swooped down and landed on the ground next to Ax. Hi.

            Marco landed next to me. Hey Ax.

            "How are you on this fine afternoon?" Ax asked. "You are Marco, I presume, and not Cassie. And your companion must be Serenity. Tee. Ee."

            I demorphed. So did Marco. 

            Tobias came out the back door with a plate of corn. "I see we have guests. Then I will just bring some more food out for everybody."

            I gave Marco a look. 

            "Hey, it's free food. It means I don't have to pay for it," he said, going inside the house.

            I sidled up next to Ax. "So, what are you cooking?"

            "I am cooking ground and processed cattle adorned with various flavorings. Humans call them hamburgers. But I am going to add cheese to mine, thus making it a cheeseburger. Then I will—"

            "Okay, Ax. I get it," I interrupted. "We're having hamburgers. And judging from what Tobias had in his hand, we're having corn."

            "And French fries. And for dessert, we're having cinnamon buns."

            "Cool."

**A/N: See? It was uneventful. Just as I had said. And it seems short. But this was the best chapter six out of all the ones I wrote, so this is the one I typed. Oh well. Chapter seven should DEFINITELY be better. **


	7. And now we meet Kym

**A/N: What's up? I haven't updated in a while. I wrote this chapter during Pre-Calculus, which is actually the best class to write in (in my opinion). Thanks for the reviews. I appreciate them all. Enjoy chapter seven!**

Marco and I morphed and set off to get his car. Then he took me home, where a very impatient Jake was waiting in the doorway.

            "Where were you?" he asked, not letting me in.

            "Um…"

            "Do you know what time it is?"

            I could answer that one. "No. I don't have a watch."

            A hint of a smile. "So? Where were you?"

            "Well, Marco and I morphed, flew to Tobias's house, and found them making dinner."

            "Them?"

            "Yes. Ax was barbecuing. We joined them for dinner. Then we sat around and talked for a while."

            "What did you talk about?"

            "Tobias talked about life as a hawk, Ax rambled about something we didn't understand, and Marco was just being himself."

            A definite smile this time. "That's good. Come inside; I don't want to heat the neighborhood."

            I went inside and flopped on a couch.

            "How was school?" he asked from the kitchen.

            "Decent."

            He came in and sat down next to me. "That good, huh?"

            "You signed me up for choir," I informed him.

            "Yes I did. Did you like it?"

            "I can't seem to be able to sing."

            "You'll get better. Just give it a chance. It's only your first day. Do you have any homework to do? Anything I can help with?"

            "Did it."

            He raised an eyebrow. "_All_ of it?"

            "In class," I said and turned the TV on. "Anything good on tonight?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            A girl bumped into me on the way to math class. "I'm so sorry," she said, staring somewhere behind me.

            "It's okay. Are you looking for something?"

            "What? Oh. No. I'm just trying to bet back to class."

            "Are you new too?" I asked, hoping she'd say yes.

            "No. I just don't come out of class much." Her gaze was still fixated on a spot behind me, which was odd.

            "Well, my name's Serenity. Serenity Berenson. Don't ask about Jake. I'm related to him."

            "Kym Thompson."

            "Would you like me to help you find your class?" I offered.

            She smiled and grabbed my arm. "Thanks."       

            Then it hit me. Maybe this girl couldn't find her class because she couldn't _see_ her class.

            "Not to be rude or anything, but are you…"

            "Blind? Yeah."

            Sympathy washed over me. 

            "Don't pity me," she said, almost as if she'd read my mind. "Everybody does. Stop here. This may be my class. I didn't walk far."

            I did as I was told and saw about ten handicapped children. One was blind, like Kym. Three were talking to each other with their hands. Sign language. The others were in wheelchairs and had varying degrees of disability.

            Another thought entered my mind as I watched them. These were the type of people the Yeerks wouldn't touch. Why would handicapped people be of use to them?

            "Well? Is it my class or not?" Kym asked impatiently. "Don't just gape at them."  
            The warning bell rang, signaling that I had two minutes left to get to class.

            "This is it," I said to her.

            She let go of my arm and reached for the door handle. "Thank you Serenity. I appreciate your help. Maybe we can talk again sometime."

            "Sure," I said, leaving for class. But suddenly, I didn't want to go to math. I'd found an ally. But was it right to use a person just because they're disabled? Just because the enemy wouldn't want them?

            I walked out the door. I needed to talk to somebody. Somebody who'd understand. Not Jake. Not Marco. Ax and Tobias didn't seem right either.

            I heard Jake's voice in my head. _So far, you have inherited the traits that we wanted you to get…my leadership skills, Cassie's morality…_

I needed Cassie. She'd have the answer I wanted.

            I threw my stuff in a bush and morphed to hawk. I took off and circled a few times. Where would she be? I checked her house. Yes. She was there. I saw her through the upstairs window, rocking a small baby. Judging by the pink clothes, it was a girl.

            She looked surprised as I tapped on the window. 

            "Who might you be? A red-tail. Not Tobias," she muttered as she came to the window with the baby. "Not Jake. Not Marco. Not Ax. You must be Serenity."

            Hey, Cassie. And who's this bundle of joy?

            "Oh. This is Danielle. She's ten months old. Looks just like her father," she said. "But that's not why you came here, is it?" She glanced at the clock. "You should be in school. What's wrong?"

            I demorphed. "I met this girl today. Kym. She's blind. All I could think was that she'd make a great ally since the Yeerks wouldn't touch her. But somehow it didn't feel right. I needed to talk to someone, so I came here."

            She sighed and put Danielle in her crib. "Come downstairs with me. We'll talk over coffee. Do you like coffee?"

            I shrugged. "I'll try anything once."

            I followed her downstairs and we sat down at a small table in the kitchen.

            "You're considering using handicapped people as allies?" she asked.

            "Well…probably just this one girl. One part of me felt it wasn't right. But another part of me was all for it. I'm confused."

            "We did something similar to that before. We needed more troops, so we recruited disabled kids from a local rehab center…I'll just say that it didn't have a happy ending. They were our diversion. Our diversion was wiped out by the Visser."

            "So you're saying it's a bad idea."

            "I was against it. It felt morally wrong. But they fought well. In your case, I believe that you should go with what you feel is right. I think you should give her a chance to prove herself to you. She's probably tougher than you think."

            I got up from the table. "Thanks for your time."

            "It was no problem. Come back anytime."

            I opened the door. "If you ever need a babysitter, you know who to call. Maybe you and Ronnie can have an evening to yourselves."

            "That would be nice. I'll think about it. Tell Jake I said hi."

            I morphed and flew back to school. The bell would ring in a few minutes. Maybe. I didn't know. I didn't have a watch. But sure enough, the bell rang a few minutes later. I spotted Kym heading toward a bus. 

            "Kym!" I called and she stopped.

            "Serenity? I thought I'd never hear from you again. What do you want?"

            "I need to talk to you about something important."

            "Well, I need to catch this bus."

            "Okay…where do you live?"

            "I live in a group home for handicapped orphans. I don't know where it is."

            "I'll find it."

            "What's so important that you can't tell me right now?"

            "Just trust me. I can't tell you now. People may hear things that cannot be heard. They may be the enemy."

            "Okay. I don't know why I'm trusting you, but I am. I really need to catch this bus. I will see you later then."

            She walked, cane in hand, to the bus and got on. That had to be a hard life.

            With my help, it was about to get worse.

**A/N: Finally, Kym's in the picture. In chapter 8, a very unlikable character returns. No, not Esplin 9466. Not yet. That chapter should be up VERY soon.**


	8. Bad, bad Jake You're being mean

A/N: Wow. I finally connected "The Created" and "The Sight". It took a little reworking, but I did it. I just left out a lot of unimportant stuff. I was actually going to devote an entire chapter to Serenity and Marco's dinner with Ax and Tobias, but it got a little weird. I'll just say one word: cinnamon buns. Oh. That's two words. Well, I hope you all enjoy chapter eight. It should be better than some of the previous ones. I'm bringing back one of our favorite *gags* characters. Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them.     ~Alara-Sirinial-Amalon 

            Jake drove me to the group home where Kym lived. It wasn't a nice place. The grass was overgrown, the shutters were almost falling off, and there were one…no, two holes in the roof covered with plastic.

            "Are you sure about this?" he asked, looking nervous. "I mean, you can't change your mind once she's been told. Not really."

            "I'm sure. As long as we can get this box to Kym, we're okay." I looked at the small, heavy box in my hands. It looked so harmless. But it was a curse. Or a gift, depending on how you looked at it.

            He pulled into the small parking lot. "You want me to come with you?"

            I shook my head and put the morphing cube in the seat. "I'll be okay. Just wait for me here."

            I knocked on the door of the building and a short, partially bald man in a checked shirt and plaid pants answered. "Yes?"

            "I'm here to see Kym Thompson about a school assignment. I'm in her class." It was a lie, but he bought it. He led me to a very small room. In it was a bookcase with books, and one bed.

            Kym was on the bed facing the wall. I knocked on the open door.

            "Who is it?" she asked, turning around.

            "It's me. Serenity."

            A smile. "I really didn't believe you'd come."

            "I keep my promises."

            "Come in. And close the door. I don't want anybody to hear whatever it is you want to tell me."

            I closed the door and sat next to her on the bed. 

            "So, what did you want to tell me?" she asked.

            "Do you know what the Yeerks are?"

            "They're mentioned in most of the books that I have. I don't know much about them, except that they control people. And that they were defeated by a group of teenagers called the Animorphs. I know quite a bit about the Animorphs."

            "What if I said that the Yeerks came back?"

            "I'd say that you were crazy."

            "They're back."

            "You _are_ crazy."

            "Come with me. I want you to meet someone." I got up and opened the door. She followed me to the parking lot.

            Jake extended his hand. "Hi. I'm Jake Berenson."

            Kym gasped. "You're Jake Berenson, the Animorph? Wow. It's an honor to meet you. I've read a lot about you and your friends."

            He laughed and put his hand down. "I'm sure you have."

            "What's this all about?" she asked.

            "Kym, what would you say if I offered you the chance to fight the Yeerks?" I asked her. "Become an Animorph?"

            "I'd say sure. The Yeerks need to understand that Earth will never be theirs. It's ours."

            Jake handed me the blue box. "Kym, I hope you're sure about this. It's a big responsibility. It's not a game."

            "If I can survive the world as a blind person, I think I can do almost anything."

            I took her hand and placed it on the box.

            "It tingles," she said.

            "Kym, welcome to the Animorphs," Jake and I said in unison.

            "And, for your first morph…" I began, and then put her hand on my shoulder. "Just concentrate."

            I felt sleepy as she acquired me. 

            "Serenity, before she morphs, we should get in a better place. We're out in the open," Jake said, looking around.

            "We can go behind the building," Kym said. "It's usually very quiet there, so it's probably empty."

            She was right. It was a small yard, with a few chairs and a table. Trees and ivy surrounded the chain link fence.

            "Kym, I want you to concentrate on becoming me," I said. "It'll be weird at first, but you'll get used to it."

            A slight change. Her blond hair was getting longer and darker. Her blue eyes turned green. 

            "I can see," she said in disbelief. "This is amazing. I—I don't know how to explain it. The world looks different from how I imagined it. Wow. This truly is amazing."

            I felt very happy for her. But I didn't understand how she could see.

            "Jake, how can she see? She was blind."

            "Morphing uses DNA. Your DNA can see. If Kym was born blind, then when she demorphs, she will be blind again."

            "So the only way I'll be able to see is while I'm in morph? Then I'll just be in morph all the time."

            Jake shook his head. "You can't do that. Two hours. That's the limit. Go past that, and stay in morph forever. A _nothlit_."

            A tree next to the fence shook suddenly and a person fell to the ground.

            "What in the world…" I began, pacing around her. She was unconscious. She looked like she'd once been a very beautiful person. Blonde hair, blue eyes. But part of her face was a massive scar, partially faded with time. Her right arm looked like it was made of melted plastic. A prosthetic leg.

            I turned to look for Jake and found him pressed against the side of the building, looking like he'd just seen a ghost. He was pale and shaking violently, muttering the same phrase over and over: "It can't be. It can't be. It can't be."

            Kym was looking at him in confusion. "I don't understand this emotion."

            "It's called fear, Kym." I glanced back at the figure on the ground. She wasn't very old, maybe Jake's age.

            She stirred and Jake jumped.

            I knelt down next to her. "Are you okay? That was a pretty bad fall."

            She sat up and examined her fresh wounds. "I'll be fine. Just get away from me, human."

            Human? Why would someone address another person that way? Unless…

            "Yeerk," Jake growled, regaining some of his confidence. "Taylor."

            A smirk spread across her face as she got up off the ground. "The one and only. So, everything that has been said for the past few decades is true. We were actually defeated by human children."

            "How in the world did you survive?" he asked, orange fur slowly spreading over his body. Kym saw this and her eyes widened, but she didn't say anything. "It's been a long time."

            "Portable kandronas, cannibalism. But I don't have to do that anymore. Now that we have an up-and-running pool, I don't have to almost starve all the time."

            Jake completed the morph. Serenity, morph something dangerous, he said privately to me. Then, back to Taylor: What do you want, Yeerk?

            "Well, as you may have heard, Esplin 9466—Visser One—has been rescued by some of his followers. Yeerks who still believe that he will lead us to glory."

            What does this have to do with us? I asked, completing the morph to bear.

            She glared at me. "I'm next in line to be Visser One. Help me, and I'll help you."

            How will you help us? Jake asked, slowly closing in on her. 

            "Help me, and we'll leave."

            There was something missing. Yeerks wouldn't just leave.

            You'll leave, Jake repeated. What's the catch?

            "Make me morph capable. After that, I kill Visser One, take his place, gather up my people and their hosts and we leave."

            Never.

            "I didn't want to have to resort to this, humans." She pulled a Dracon beam from her pocket and aimed it at Kym. "You first."

            I didn't wait for an order. I just charged at her, slamming into her good leg and knocking her to the ground. She fired, and it grazed my side. I roared in pain and rolled right over her. She screamed something, and Hork-Bajir started dropping from the top of the building.

            Kym screamed behind me and began to demorph. I had an idea. I charged at the nearest Hork-Bajir and sent him flying toward the wall. He hit with a dull thump and slid to the ground. 

            Kym, acquire it! I cried. Acquire it and morph, now!

            She took off running, still demorphing. I knew the exact moment her sight disappeared because she stopped, reaching out for the Hork-Bajir. Her arm met one of its blades and she screamed, blood running down her elbow.

            Kym, acquire it now! The morphing will heal it! Do. It. Now! I charged toward Taylor, who was running. Jake was ripping the throat out of a particularly large one. His side was cut open, revealing various organs.

            Three left. One for each of us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw blades appear on Kym's body.

            I growled and knocked Taylor to the ground again. She yelped as I pressed a large paw down on her back.

            Kym joined the fight and…well, I'll spare the gory details. I'll just say that she took down the three Hork-Bajir on her own.

            Die, Yeerk, I said coldly, slowly pressing harder on Taylor's spine.

            She turned her head to see me. "Remember, I won't be the one who will die. It'll be the human. I'm just the Yeerk inside. Unless you can break through heat-proof, blast-proof polymer plates, you can't kill me. Do you want to have a human death on your hands?"

            What am I doing? I can't kill a person.

            I raised my paw off her back and she got up, still smirking. "Remember, I know what you look like, human. I know what all of you look like. You can't go anywhere. Within a few hours, all Yeerks on Earth will know what you look like. Watch out, humans."

            She left and Jake demorphed. He glared at me. "What in the world were you doing? You let her go! You could have killed her! Maybe I was wrong to trust you with this responsibility. Maybe I was wrong to start Project Four-Six-Three. Maybe it was a waste of my money and my time."

            His words cut me deep. I demorphed and tears threatened to spill over. Instead of saying something back, I began to morph to hawk. He suddenly realized what he'd said and cursed at himself.

            "Serenity, I'm sorry," he said, walking towards me. I completed the morph and stood there, glaring at him.

            Maybe you're right, I said.

            "Don't do this. I didn't mean what I said. It's just…I was angry…She…I didn't mean any of it."

            Part of me wanted to believe him. Part of me wanted to demorph and go home.

            Jake, Kym can't go back to school. Not really. The Yeerks will be after her. You'll need to figure out how to fix that problem. Good luck. I spread my wings and took off, ignoring Jake's cries for me to come back.

            Where would I go? Certainly not home. Jake would be there. I perched in a tree and watched Kym demorph. Jake ran to the car and pulled a shirt and a pair of shorts from the trunk. Her clothes had been shredded when she morphed. He handed them to her and she got dressed. 

            When he turned my way, I saw tears in his eyes. He knew he'd hurt me.

            I took off and decided to let him think about what he'd said to me. I'd come back later. I had better things to do.

            I was going to kill Taylor.

**A/N: Nothing like a little conflict to stir things up. Why does Jake have to be mean? I'm writing this and I don't even know! Oh well. Maybe I never will. Please review! I really enjoying opening up MS Outlook and seeing "[Fanfiction.net] Review alert!" in my inbox. They make me feel all warm and cozy inside…maybe I should just get off the laptop now. Later!**


	9. Take the Visser shopping? Don't think so

**A/N: Well, here's chapter 9. Hope you enjoy it. After the last chapter, it should be a little nicer. I'd wanted some conflict between Serenity and Jake, but couldn't figure out how to do it. Then, as I wrote chapter 8, all the pieces fell into place. I had a reason to make them be against each other. But another idea has come from that chapter, and I've started working on a new fic about Taylor, called "The Enemy". It's sort of what happened to her after #43 when she was blown down the tunnel by the gas. So far, I've written two full chapters, but haven't posted them yet. I've pushed that aside to work on my new original fic over on fictionpress.net, called "The Intergalactic Military: Book One: Erin Aspen". Enjoy chapter 9!**

            Taylor was tearing apart the only family that I had. She deserved to die. Not the host, but the Yeerk. But if that weren't possible, then the host would die as well. It sounded harsh in my mind, but it was the only plan I could think of. 

            It wasn't much of a plan. I didn't even know where the Yeerk pool was.

            Come to think of it, I didn't even know _what_ it was.

            I circled until the two-hour limit, and then demorphed on the roof of a building near a park. A few kids stopped playing and pointed at me.

            I changed into my other form, and jumped off the roof. It was a ten-story jump.

            I landed gracefully on my feet then changed back. A little girl, around five or so, crossed the street and came up to me.

            "Are you an Animorph?" she asked incredulously.

            I smiled. "Yeah, I am."

            The little girl's mother was panicking because she couldn't find her daughter.

            "Samantha! Where are you? Samantha!"

            "Can you change into something for me?" Samantha asked.

            "Like what?"

            She thought for a moment. "A monkey. Like the man named Marco. He's funny. My mommy thinks he's cute."

            I laughed silently. "Sure, Samantha."

            I morphed and she squealed with delight. "That's neat! I wish I could do that."

            I demorphed and took her hand. "Maybe when you're older. Now let's go back to your mommy. I think she misses you."

            "Okay."

            I led Samantha back to her mother. 

            "Oh, thank you," she said and watched her daughter run off to play with the other kids again. I saw her talking rapidly and pointing at me.

            "It was no problem. You have a very nice daughter."

            Samantha ran up and tugged on her mother's shirt. "Mommy, mommy, mommy! See this girl in front of you? She can turn into a monkey like Marco!"

            Her mother smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Is this true?"

            I shuffled my feet, not sure what to say. "Yeah, I guess."

            "Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Jordan. Jake's cousin," she said.

            "I'm Serenity. Jake's sort of…relative or something, in a way. I didn't know he had any cousins besides Rachel."

            She laughed. "Neither do the history books. I'm Rachel's younger sister."

            Samantha tugged again on her mother's shirt. "Mommy? Can we do something else? I'm bored."

            Jordan scooped Samantha up in her arms. "It was nice meeting you, Serenity."

            I waved and watched her and Samantha get into their car and drive away.

            I wondered if Jake was reacting to my disappearance the way Jordan had reacted to Samantha's. He didn't deserve my doing that to him. I morphed to hawk, much to the amazement of the people around, and headed home.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            I found Jake in his bedroom, staring at the wall. I demorphed and came quietly through the front door. I stood in his doorway and watched him for a moment. He looked so unhappy, like his whole world had come crashing down on him. Did he really take this parenting thing that seriously?

            "Jake?"

            He turned around and looked at me with dark eyes. He'd been crying. "You came back."

            "Yeah." I told him what had happened.

            "I'd like to apologize for what I said. I was caught up in the moment, and I'd hoped that you would kill her, after all that she'd done to us. I tried to see it from your perspective, and now I understand why you didn't kill her."

            "I'm sorry for taking off like that. I wanted…I wanted to sort of…punish you for what you'd said."

            He laughed. "I probably would have done the same thing in your place. I understand that you haven't had much human contact in your life, and expressing emotions is hard."

            "That's my problem. I shouldn't take it out on you."

            He got up off the bed. "Let's forget this, okay? Then we can eat. I was thinking of ordering Chinese or something."

            I nodded and followed him out of the room.

            *****

            As we waited for dinner to arrive, I thought of something.

            "Jake, what happened to Kym?"

            He looked behind me and I turned around to see…me.

            I laughed and shook my head. "What did you do Jake, adopt her?"

            "You know, personally, I don't think they know she's missing. I'll return her tomorrow."

            "You make her sound like a dog or something," I said. "_Oh, Jake, can we keep her?_"

            "_No_, because then they'll know my address, my phone number, everything and I'll be back in the news in no time. That's the way the world works around here, especially when they do those shows like 'where are they now?' or things like that. I'm always worried that somebody will knock on my front door and shove a camera in my face. Then again, I'm also worried about Visser One knocking on my front door. What would I do then? Invite him in for tea?"

            Kym laughed. "If I understand you correctly, this Visser One is _not_ a person you want to be friends with, right?"

            "Unless you enjoy having slugs control your mind," Jake said. "If this is the Yeerk I think it is, you _definitely_ don't want to be friends with him. But since he doesn't have an Andalite host anymore, I don't really see what we need to be afraid of."

            "But if he catches one of us, then he has a morph-capable host again," I said.

            "We don't want that, right?" Kym asked. Then she thought about it for a moment. "No, I don't think we want that."

            "But if we can get to him before he gets to us…" I began.

            "We could end up with a crazier Visser One than before. If we eliminate all the lower people and work our way up, then we can get him," Jake finished. "But I'm not the leader anymore. It's your call, Serenity. Personally, I would wait until I had more forces. Two teenage girls aren't going to do much. I mean, you can take him shopping, but that's about it."

            "That's not a bad idea," I said.

            "Taking the Visser shopping isn't a bad idea?" Jake said. "Are you out of your mind?"

            I laughed. "No, I meant that going shopping wasn't a bad idea. Just imagine the looks on peoples' faces when Kym and I walk in. We're one hundred percent identical. And if Jake—"

            He backed away from me. "No. I know what you're thinking, and no. I won't do it. You can't make me."

            Ten minutes later, the three of us were at the mall.

            Jake kept pulling on his miniskirt. "I can't believe you talked me into this. And I can't believe that I ever bought this skirt for you. It's a little too short. And this whole girl thing? It's a little too strange for my taste."

            "Oh, lighten up, Jake," I said, grabbing his and Kym's arms. "We're going shopping!"

            Behind me, I heard a scream, and a Dracon beam lanced over my head, shattering one of the lights. The three of us spun around, and saw three Hork-Bajir, about seven Taxxons, a lot of human-controllers, and one human that stood out from the rest. He seethed with evil.

            "Which one of you is Jake? I got word from Visser Four that you were still around. She had us follow you here."

            Jake demorphed. "So, we meet again, Visser."

            The Visser smirked. "Yes, and this time, you won't be so lucky. Recruiting teenagers? Shameful. Why isn't Jake the mighty Yeerk-killer fighting us? Is he too…scared?"

            A little boy stood up on one of the nearby tables. "Jake Berenson isn't scared! He's never scared! My mommy said so!"

            "I wouldn't say that, kid," Jake muttered.

            "Silence that child!" the Visser cried. A low power Dracon beam hit him in the chest and knocked him out. 

            Slowly, the humans in the mall were gathering behind us, facing the Visser's small force.

            "Well, I see you've gathered an army, Jake. Pity they'll all be destroyed." He turned to his small group. "Kill them all. Save the morph-capable ones."

            They charged, and the world came crashing down on us.

A/N: Wow. They just go from one enemy to the next, don't they? At this time, I'd like to post a little bit of my original fic, called "The Intergalactic Military: Book One: Erin Aspen"…

I fell to the floor as I was suddenly pushed from the bed.

            "Get up, human."

            I moaned. It had to be around three in the morning.

            Something kicked me in the ribs. "Get up. Now."

            I opened my eyes and saw a black figure standing over me.

            "Not you," I moaned. It was the Hbrai. "What do you want?"

            "It's initiation time," she said and pulled me up by my hair. "Come with me." She pushed me out the door and into the hallway. Other people were waiting out there. One was green and had about seven-dozen eyes; another was yellow and looked like a frog. There were two more that looked almost identical; they were a deep red color and their skin looked as if it could really do some serious damage.

            "Okay, what in the world do I have to do?"

            I saw green-uniformed figures coming down one of the tubes, which I decided to call a drop shaft. One of the figures was Lee.

            I ran over and hugged him.

            "It seems that she knows this creature," the Hbrai said. "This makes it a little easier. Okay, human—"

            "The name is Erin," I stated, gathering up my courage. What were they going to make us do?

            "Okay, _Erin_," she mocked. "This is a simple initiation. We've all had to go through it the first night we were here, and now it's your turn. When I had to do it, it was a little awkward, considering he was of a different species. But it's just ten minutes, then you're done. If you don't do it, you will be mistreated until the end of your stay here."

            Rak'it came out of her quarters and yawned. "What's going on out here?"

            The Hbrai smiled evilly. "None of your business, Rak'it."

            "Oh no, it's initiation, isn't it? Erin, just do what they say. It'll all be over with soon."

            I turned to the Hbrai. "First off, I'd like to know my torturer's name."

            "Your primitive mouth can't pronounce it, _human_." She said the last word with such hatred in her voice. "But you can call me Mitrop. That means 'leader' where I'm from."

            "I will call you 'nothing', because that is what you are," I spat.

            She grabbed my hair again and pressed my face against a wall. Hard. 

            "Oooh, this is a feisty one. She'll make a great comrade if she joins us," she said to the group. Then she leaned close to my ear. "If you don't join us, I'll make your life a living hell. You can trust me on that. I've done it before, I'll do it again."

            She could be worse than this? That can't be possible.

**I know, that's the first half of chapter 3 of that fic, which may ruin it for some people, but oh well. That's life. Books Two and Three of that series should be out before the beginning of June. Actually I have chapter one of Book Two completed, edited, and ready to be posted, but have been too lazy to actually post it. I'm actually putting details in that fic! Oh the horror! I'm not saying my Animorphs fanfics aren't detailed, but I think the new original ones have more intricate details. If you decide to read that, follow the link in my bio where the homepage is supposed to be. If not, I hope you continue reading The Created and The Sight and read The Enemy when it's posted. Later, peoplez!**


	10. Serenity shows her not so hidden powers

**Title: The Created**

**Author: A.S.Amalon**

**Rating: PG**

**Chapter: Ten**

**Spoilers: If you haven't read the last book by now…**

**Disclaimer: All characters, sans Serenity and Kym, belong to the wonderful, glorious, awesome K.A. Applegate**

**A/N: Sorry I haven't posted in so long. I've had this chapter written for a while, but wasn't sure about posting it. So, after some minor editing, I think it's ready. Hope y'all enjoy it!**

            The humans scattered, most screaming their heads off. Very few stayed to fight. I mean _very_ few. As in two. But they ran off as well, after realizing that the situation was hopeless.

            I figured that no morph would be able to do what I wanted to do. I wanted to scare the Visser. I wanted to scare him so much that he would just pack up and leave Earth. The only thing that would be able to do what I wanted was my other form. I could do anything with just my mind, like levitation.

            "Jake, Kym, morph something dangerous and get out of the way," I said as we ducked under a table in the food court.

            Jake looked at me. He knew my abilities. "What are you going to do?"

            I changed into my other form. "I don't exactly know yet, but just get behind something and away from these tables."

            Jake patted my shoulder. He knew what kind of things I could do. My mind abilities were one of the reasons I was locked up for so long; they'd been scared of me. "Good luck. If you need any help, just call for me. That should get my attention."

            I nodded and rolled out from under the table.

            "There's one! Catch it!" the Visser cried. "Get it before it gets away!"

            The two humans on our side took one look at me and ran away. The Taxxons slithered at me. 

            "Big mistake, worms," I said and held my arms out to my sides.

            Oh no, I know what you're going to do, Jake said. Just be careful; you still don't have complete control of these powers.

            I rolled my eyes. I knew what I was doing.

            I don't think the Visser did, though. He sent more of his Taxxons after me.

            I started with two tables. I levitated them and flung them at the Taxxons. A leg off the table pierced a Taxxon's soft skin. The smell was atrocious! A couple stopped to eat their fallen comrade, but the rest continued charging at me. 

            "Get this…human-looking creature!" the Visser called. 

            "I don't think so," I growled and hurled some tables directly at him. He ducked, but was a little two slow. Let me just say that he'll have a nasty knot on his head later. 

            "Get her! NOW!!"

            I laughed triumphantly. I was unstoppable!

            "Hey Jake, you guys can take out a few of them, just watch out for flying furniture," I cried. A tiger and a Hork-Bajir leapt over the counter of Cinnabon. 

            As soon as one of the Hork-Bajir Controllers was down, I levitated the Visser and held him over the Hork-Bajir's sharp blades. He flailed and screamed. Oh, and pleaded for his life. I liked that part the most.

            Serenity, don't! Jake screamed at me. Don't do it!

            "Why shouldn't I?" I yelled back, raising the Visser, then dropping him dangerously close to the blades.

            You're not one of them. Don't be one. You're human, not Yeerk.

            He was right. I carelessly flung the Visser across the room, where he was knocked out by a cash register.

            The human-controllers weren't stupid enough to stay with me. They deserted their Visser, followed by the rest of his goons.

            I was so busy laughing that I didn't notice the camera or the guys in black suits.

            "Freeze!"

            I think you're in trouble, Kym said to me.

            Jake stepped in front of the guys. What do you want with her?

            "Step aside, Mr. Berenson. We're not interested in you. This girl over here interests us."

            You have no right to take her anywhere. Who are you with, anyway?

            "We are with the government. And yes, we do have the right to take her. I have the right to do anything I want."

            "And what if I don't want to go with you?" I asked. They smelled strange, like enemies.

            "Either you come with us, or this reporter over here submits his tape." Blackmail. This guy was smart.

            You wouldn't.

            "I can and will, Mr. Berenson. So she is coming with—" his face started twitching uncontrollably.

            Yeerk! Jake yelled.

            One of the others laughed. "Right. But we don't serve Visser One. We serve Visser Four, and she is very interested in this girl."

            "How did you know I was going to be here?" I asked, keeping my distance. 

            "Visser Four knows where you live. She had us follow you here. But she also got Visser One to follow you as well, hoping that he would distract you."

            A thought hit me. "The pair of eyes the other night belonged to her."

            He didn't say a word, but the look on his face told me that I was right.

            "Why does she want me? I'm no better than any other human."

            "Look at yourself. Look at what you've done here. You're not human. No human can possibly do this. Visser Four only wants to talk with you. She wants to negotiate with you."

            "And if I don't want to?"

            "The tape goes on the eleven o'clock news tonight."


	11. Serenity's decision

**Title: The Created**

**Author: A.S.Amalon**

**Rating: PG**

**Chapter: Eleven**

**Spoilers: If you haven't read the last book by now…**

**Disclaimer: All characters, sans Serenity and Kym, belong to the wonderful, glorious, awesome K.A. Applegate**

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in chappies! I didn't forget about this fic. And thanks for the reviews! As per your request, D.H. L'Orange, I'm putting up a quick recap of the story. Enjoy!**

**-[****]-RECAP-[]-**

**It's 2050, and the Yeerks are back. Serenity, once known as project Four-Six-Three, is a genetically created human designed especially to fight the Yeerks. Due to the odd mixture of DNA strands from the living Animorphs, she has acquired superhuman powers, such as levitation, the ability to melt things with a single touch, and a whole other form to change into. And, somehow, from the mixture of DNA, she's become very Rachel-like (she thinks it's from Jake's DNA, since they were cousins, but I believe that Rachel's attitude was a combination of all of the Animorphs' personalities, so that's my new theory on where her Rachel-ness came from). So she now lives with Jake as his "daughter", met Erek, went for her first day at school, hung out with Marco, met a blind girl named Kym, made Kym an Animorph, fought Taylor, ran off, returned, and went to the mall…well, the three went as identical triplets, with Jake feeling horribly uncomfortable the entire time. Then Visser One shows up with his cronies, and all hell breaks loose. After a mild display of her abilities is caught on camera, Serenity is faced with a hard decision: go with the Yeerks to talk to Visser Four, or risk the world knowing that she's…different.**

            "The eleven o'clock news?" I repeated. I had no idea of what importance that was to human culture; I'd never seen such a thing.

            "Yes. The eleven o'clock news," the Yeerk repeated. "I'll destroy the tape if you come with me."

            Serenity, the eleven o'clock news is pretty important, Kym said. Even I know that, and I've never seen it. People all over a certain area watch the exact same broadcast, which means hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of people will be watching your little escapade out there.

            That certainly wasn't what I wanted.

            "Can I see the tape for myself?" I asked. 

            He handed it over with a smirk to the cameraman. "See? It's just an ordinary tape. Nothing special. Well, nothing except for some excellent footage of a freak. Do you want to be feared worldwide? Revered as a menace to society?"

            I studied the tape. It was black, very plain, and gave off a very strong odor of plastic. I smiled wryly. Plastic was something I could do some damage to.

            "So if this tape happened to…I don't know…melt, what would you do?"

            He grabbed the tape, but I had already started to melt it. The bubbling plastic took hold of his hand and he cried out in pain.

            "I guess that's the end of that," I said. "Sorry boys; looks like I won."

            The cameraman laughed. "I think not, little human. This camera is different from most regular human ones. Besides making a hard copy of the footage, it makes a digital one, which is stored safely away on a computer as a time-release file so that as soon as ten o'clock hits, it gets sent straight to the station, where one of our people will put it on the air during the eleven o'clock broadcast. Maybe even as a Special Report, if I'm lucky enough. Backup plans always come in handy, especially when dealing with little freaks like you."

            I didn't like being called a freak, and both men knew it. They were trying to get me angry, and it was working. The other man had his hand coated in melted black plastic, and I wasn't stopping until the tape was completely liquefied. I wanted him to feel the pain.

            Serenity, do not get mad at these creeps, Jake said. Don't let them get the satisfaction of knowing that they made you angry.

            I was faced with a tough decision. Should I go home and risk being exposed to the world as a genetic nightmare, or should I go with them and face Visser Four, whoever she is?

            I didn't know what to do, and nobody was offering any advice or words of wisdom to guide me. This was a decision I'd have to make on my own.

            It's your call, Jake said. You're the leader now. Whatever you choose, I'll back you up.

            So will I, Kym chimed in.

            They were behind me in whatever decision I made. I was glad for that. Now all that was left was to make the actual choice.

            I saw Visser One awaken and climb up off the floor. He glared at me, but made no move. He calmly brushed himself off and headed out the broken glass doors of the now very deserted mall.

            Judging from that, he was not one I could work with. I didn't know who Visser Four was, or at least I believed I didn't. Visser Four was definitely a female, as the Controllers in front of me referred to her as a "she" more than once. I could deal with another female.

            _Just like you tried to deal with __Taylor__? my mind reminded me. _A failed attempt, to say the least.__

            I could deal with another female. I wasn't sure about Visser One, but Visser Four should be a piece of cake.

            "I'll come with you. But no tricky stuff. I don't want to be blindfolded or gagged, or tied to a chair. That's my deal. I'll come peacefully if you treat me decently."

            Good call, Serenity, Jake said. We'll follow closely, attempt to see where they're taking you. He turned to the Controllers. If you harm one hair on this girl's head, I'll… He held up one of his huge paws for effect.

            "I get it," the man with the plastic-covered hand said.

            Jake must have said something to Kym at that moment, because she wished me good luck and walked off. Jake started to follow, only to nuzzle my hand with his large tiger head. Then he bounded off, and I was alone with the men.

            "Shall we go?" the cameraman asked.

            "Yes we shall," his partner agreed.

            I kept myself in my other form, just in case. 

            What had I gotten myself into?


	12. Serenity meets Visser Four

**Title: The Created**

**Author: A.S.Amalon**

**Rating: PG**

**Chapter: Twelve**

**Spoilers: If you haven't read the last book by now…**

**Disclaimer: All characters, sans Serenity and Kym, belong to the wonderful, glorious, awesome K.A. Applegate**

**A/N: I'm sorry that I haven't been around lately! I feel so bad now *hides*. But here is chappie twelve, with a recap and everything. Thanks for the reviews, and I apologize that this chappie is so short. I will get on to the next one in a couple of minutes, I promise!**

**-[****]-RECAP-[]-**

**It's 2050, and the Yeerks are back. Serenity, once known as project Four-Six-Three, is a genetically created human designed especially to fight the Yeerks. Due to the odd mixture of DNA strands from the living Animorphs, she has acquired superhuman powers, such as levitation, the ability to melt things with a single touch, and a whole other form to change into. And, somehow, from the mixture of DNA, she's become very Rachel-like (she thinks it's from Jake's DNA, since they were cousins, but I believe that Rachel's attitude was a combination of all of the Animorphs' personalities, so that's my new theory on where her Rachel-ness came from). So she now lives with Jake as his "daughter", met Erek, went for her first day at school, hung out with Marco, met a blind girl named Kym, made Kym an Animorph, fought Taylor, ran off, returned, and went to the mall…well, the three went as identical triplets, with Jake feeling horribly uncomfortable the entire time. Then Visser One shows up with his cronies, and all hell breaks loose. After a mild display of her abilities is caught on camera, Serenity decides to go with the Yeerks to meet their esteemed leader, Visser Four. What happens now?**

            The men led me to a small white car and I was pushed and shoved into the back seat. They shut the doors and I tried the handles.

            One of the men laughed as his companion put his camera in the trunk of the car. "Stupid freak. Child safety lock. The door can be opened from the outside, but not from the inside."

            So I tried the window, which stopped partway down. The cameraman reached through it and pinched my cheek.

            "You're so dumb it's cute."

            I rolled the window up on his arm and laughed. I then proceeded to draw on the arm with one of my claws, drawing blood. The cameraman screamed and his partner rolled the window down to free his arm.

            The cameraman crawled into the passenger's seat and put his face in mine. "If Visser Four hadn't told me not to kill you, I'd murder you here on the spot."

            "Sit down, you idiot, and buckle up. We need to get this circus act to the Visser."

            The cameraman didn't move, so I gave him a huge grin, revealing all of my flesh-tearing teeth, and he jumped back. He grabbed the door, slammed it shut, turned around, and buckled himself up, keeping one eye on me the entire time.

            "What in the world are you?" he asked.

            "I am better than a slime-crawling Yeerk."

            Hatred flashed in the men's eyes. I was pushing all of their buttons, trying to anger them.

            As we drove down the street, pushing ninety, I spotted a police car up ahead. Good. The police could arrest these jerks for speeding.

            Instead, the police car pulled in front of us and turned its lights on.

            It was escorting us! The Yeerks had infiltrated the police! Well, it shouldn't have surprised me; the police were only human, after all.

            We drove for what seemed like ages, in and out of towns, past buildings and homes. Nobody was in our way; they were all pulled over to the side because of the police car.

            We pulled into a parking garage, ascended a few levels, and finally stopped.

            The door next to me was opened and I promptly stepped out and smoothed my skirt.

            "Come," the driver said, pointing to a doorway that led to some sort of bridge connecting the parking garage to another building. I walked with them through the doorway and onto the bridge. I looked through the glass that surrounded me on three sides, taking in my last glimpse of sunlight before what may very well end up being my demise.

            We walked into an average-looking building; the floors were carpeted, there were little partitions everywhere, creating small cubicles for the workers, computers all around, and a hallway ahead of us. We went down the hallway and the men opened one of the doors, shoved me inside, and slammed the door behind me.

            I was in a large meeting room with a long wooden table lined from end to end with office chairs. At the opposite end of the table was a high-backed chair, facing backwards. It looked like a scene from a movie. No doubt Visser Four was sitting in the chair.

            "Hello," a cool female voice said to me. My acute hearing picked up that the voice belonged to someone very close to my age, perhaps a person in their early twenties. "You are Serenity, I presume?"

            "I am," I answered cautiously.

            "Please, take a seat. I don't want you to be uncomfortable while you are here."

            I pulled one of the chairs from the table and sat down in it.

            "I watched your little antics at the mall via satellite. You have some very impressive abilities, young human."

            I didn't say anything. A screen lit up on one wall and began to play what had happened. I saw myself raging, doing anything that I could to do some damage.

            "Look. Look at those fierce claws, those teeth, those muscles. Very impressive. So powerful, yet still with a hint of feminine grace." She laughed. "You remind me of me. Well, my host, to be exact."

            "Who are you?"

            She spun the chair around and I knew almost instantly who it was. "Why, I am Visser Four."


	13. Rachel is Visser Four?

**Title: The Created**

**Author: A.S.Amalon**

**Rating: PG**

**Chapter: Thirteen**

**Spoilers: If you haven't read the last book by now…**

**Disclaimer: All characters, sans Serenity and Kym, belong to the wonderful, glorious, awesome K.A. Applegate**

**A/N: I'm deeply sorry I haven't posted in a while. My life has changed a lot in the past few months. There are a few things that I refuse to mention, and there are a few that I will, namely finishing up my senior year and graduating. I haven't been doing fanfiction whatsoever, only my original works. I've got a nine-book original series I'm trying to finish, and a novel that I'm trying to rewrite, and fanfiction hasn't been high on my list. I've been very detached from the world around me, and detached from the world on the net. I feel really bad for that, and I'd like to offer my apology. I'm hoping that I can be a part of the world again and get back to doing the things I love. Thank you. Alisha (Alara S. Amalon)**

**-[****]-RECAP-[]-**

**It's 2050, and the Yeerks are back. Serenity, once known as project Four-Six-Three, is a genetically created human designed especially to fight the Yeerks. Due to the odd mixture of DNA strands from the living Animorphs, she has acquired superhuman powers, such as levitation, the ability to melt things with a single touch, and a whole other form to change into. And, somehow, from the mixture of DNA, she's become very Rachel-like (she thinks it's from Jake's DNA, since they were cousins, but I believe that Rachel's attitude was a combination of all of the Animorphs' personalities, so that's my new theory on where her Rachel-ness came from). So she now lives with Jake as his "daughter", met Erek, went for her first day at school, hung out with Marco, met a blind girl named Kym, made Kym an Animorph, fought Taylor, ran off, returned, and went to the mall…well, the three went as identical triplets, with Jake feeling horribly uncomfortable the entire time. Then Visser One shows up with his cronies, and all hell breaks loose. After a mild display of her abilities is caught on camera, Serenity decides to go with the Yeerks to meet their esteemed leader, Visser Four. We're just about to meet V4, who Serenity seems to recognize. Who is it?**

"No," I stammered. "It's not you."

She laughed. "Of course it's me."

I almost fell out of the chair. "But—how? You're supposed to be—"

"Dead?" she supplied. She got up out of her chair and sat in one near me. "Yes. I was dead. But thanks to the miracle of genetic manipulation, I'm alive and serving the Yeerk Empire." She smirked. "You of all people should know of the miracle of genetic manipulation, Four-Six-Three."

I feigned a look of confusion, hoping she thought she was wrong and would let me go.

It didn't work.

She leaned close to my face. "Don't play stupid with me, Four-Six-Three. I know what you are, where you were created. Why? Because I'm just like you. I was poor Jake's attempt to resurrect his dead cousin. Project Three-Seven-Nine, they called me. I was the first and last successful project before you came along."

"You're not Rachel, then. You're just a clone."

"Not a clone, exactly. What I am is a product of computer programming, just like you. All they did was scan in a picture of the old Rachel and take DNA from a relative. For you, obviously, they had a bit more fun. A click here, and you can sprout claws. Another click, and you can levitate things. You're just like me."

"No I'm not. I'm not a Yeerk."

The smirk disappeared from Rachel's face. "Old Jake has taught you not to take people at face value. Good for him. But he's not around right now. So you're going to listen to me, okay?"

"Whatever," I replied. "So how come you're not on our side if you're one of Jake's projects?"

"I was stolen as an infant, raised in the ways of the mighty Yeerk Empire. It was only fitting that I be made Visser Four. And I shall be Emperor someday."

I held up my hand, stopping her. "So you're a human? You're not a Yeerk?"

She slammed her fist on the long table. "I am most certainly _not_ a human. In appearance, perhaps. But I would never degrade myself like that. It's already bad enough that I have no need to feed on Kandrona rays like my brothers and sisters. It's bad enough that I cannot swim in the pools of my people. You do not need to rub it in."

What kind of sick, twisted being would denounce their humanity and claim to be a Yeerk? Who would _want_ to be a Yeerk in the first place?

"You're insane," I said.

"And you're just a pathetic human. And pathetic humans can be made to do anything. Aren't I proof of that? Aren't I proof of human weakness and willingness to conform just to fit in? I can make you do anything I please."

I shook my head. "Nope. Sorry. I'm one-hundred percent Yeerk-proof. None of your people can get to my brain, especially not you."

"Ah, but I can get to your emotions. I can manipulate you, turn you against all that you know and love. I can make you my host, my slave. I can do it all."

"No, you can't."

"But I can," she insisted. "You will be my slave, lost forever to the Yeerk Empire. I can do it. I don't need one of my brethren to do it for me. I'm capable of breaking you on my own. And poor old Jake will never know, until I tell you to kill him."

I could feel the rage boiling up inside of me. I wanted so badly to attack her, to murder her on the spot. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not out of fear of the guards outside, but because of who she was. This was Jake's cousin, even though she was evil. She was Rachel, and I couldn't kill her. But if I could turn her against her people, she'd be returned to Jake, and he'd finally be happy. Maybe it was a naïve hope, but it could happen. All I had to do was let her believe she was taking me as her slave, when in reality, I was taking her as my own.

"Okay," I agreed. "Try me. You'll never do it, filthy Yeerk-human."

"I can, you arrogant fool. And I will."

The battle of wills had officially begun. Who would break first?


	14. What in the world is Visser Four doing?

**Title: The Created**

**Author: A.S.Amalon**

**Rating: PG**

**Chapter: Fourteen**

**Spoilers: If you haven't read the last book by now…**

**Disclaimer: All characters, sans Serenity and Kym, belong to the wonderful, glorious, awesome K.A. Applegate and not moi.**

**A/N: I hate to say it, but I have decided to not keep fanfiction as part of my writing life. Sure, I'll update here and there, but original fiction has become more important to me. I'm sorry, and I will try to get this fic finished, as well as the others. But that'll probably be it. Unless I get something that completely changes my mind, I feel there is no point in adding more fics to my to-do list. I was considering abandoning these, leaving them to rot in the archives of FFN, but I want to know how they end just as much as anybody else. sigh Well, for now, on to the fic. I've taken the recap from the last chappie (as I need to read my own story over to know exactly what it's about, lol) and edited it some so everybody—including myself—is caught up. Good? Good.**

**-****-RECAP--**

**It's 2050, and the Yeerks are back. Serenity, once known as project Four-Six-Three, is a genetically created human designed especially to fight the Yeerks. Due to the odd mixture of DNA strands from the living Animorphs, she has acquired superhuman powers, such as levitation, the ability to melt things with a single touch, and a whole other form to change into. And, somehow, from the mixture of DNA, she's become very Rachel-like (she thinks it's from Jake's DNA, since they were cousins, but I believe that Rachel's attitude was a combination of all of the Animorphs' personalities, so that's my new theory on where her Rachel-ness came from). So she now lives with Jake as his "daughter", met Erek, went for her first day at school, hung out with Marco, met a blind girl named Kym, made Kym an Animorph, fought Taylor, ran off, returned, and went to the mall…well, the three went as identical triplets, with Jake feeling horribly uncomfortable the entire time. Then Visser One shows up with his cronies, and all hell breaks loose. After a mild display of her abilities is caught on camera, Serenity decides to go with the Yeerks to meet their esteemed leader, Visser Four. V4 turns out to be a clone of Rachel who claims her loyalty lies with the Yeerks (as well as claiming that she _is_ one). Visser Four's new goal is to break Serenity's will. Where do Serenity's loyalties lie?**

Rachel—Visser Four—turned the lights out. Though I couldn't see her well, I could smell her.

"So, my little human freak, not so quick in the dark, are we?" she asked, sounding amused.

I turned, following her voice and was hit in the back of the head. I fell to the floor, barely holding onto consciousness. She grabbed my head and held my face close to hers.

"I can make you break. In order for me to survive when I was born, certain…modifications had to be made. That's why I was strong enough to survive. That's why you survived. We're so much alike, Serenity. I can do things that humans cannot. So can you. You can do things that I can only dream of. I…well, I have a few tricks up my sleeve too." She laughed. "That's why I was able to be made Visser Four without being a true Yeerk."

I stared at her. Stared into her eyes. Those cold, ruthless eyes. There was no Rachel behind them. No Rachel left, that is.

"Yes, my little human. There is no Rachel left. Except for that little bit in you. That will be taken care of shortly."

"You can't get to me. Like I told you, I'm Yeerk-proof. Now I guess you'll just have to let me go, won't you?"

Her grip on my head tightened, her fingernails digging into my scalp. "You said you were Yeerk-proof, yes. But good old Jake didn't tell you what I could do, did he? Wait—he didn't know! Why didn't he know?" she asked innocently. "Oh, I know! Because he didn't care enough to watch over something he claimed he cared about. He didn't even notice that I was gone until hours later. He didn't know me!" She released her grip. "He wouldn't know I even exist had he not created me, do you understand?" Before I could answer, she continued. "But you…you are his prized creation. Superior to humans."

"I'm not superior. I'm different."

"But you are better, aren't you? You can do things they cannot. But I can do one thing that you cannot. And that is what has made me who I am today." She pulled me up off of the floor and wrapped her arms around me. "Don't be too scared. It's painless."

I felt a burning sensation on my back, followed by a tingling feeling. I could no longer feel Visser Four's arms wrapped around me. I reached down and felt my stomach to see if they were still there, and I felt—

"What are you doing to me?" I cried, trying to move away from her. I couldn't. I felt like I was attached to her.

Which, in reality, I now was.


	15. Rachel equals V4 equals Serenity?

**Title: The Created**

**Author: A.S.Amalon**

**Rating: PG**

**Chapter: Fifteen**

**Spoilers: If you haven't read the last book by now…**

**Disclaimer: All characters, sans Serenity and Kym, belong to the wonderful, glorious, awesome K.A. Applegate and not moi.**

**A/N: And, since I decided to cut the last chapter short, I'm going to continue in this one. Enjoy.**

**-****-RECAP--**

**It's 2050, and the Yeerks are back. Serenity, once known as project Four-Six-Three, is a genetically created human designed especially to fight the Yeerks. Due to the odd mixture of DNA strands from the living Animorphs, she has acquired superhuman powers, such as levitation, the ability to melt things with a single touch, and a whole other form to change into. And, somehow, from the mixture of DNA, she's become very Rachel-like (she thinks it's from Jake's DNA, since they were cousins, but I believe that Rachel's attitude was a combination of all of the Animorphs' personalities, so that's my new theory on where her Rachel-ness came from). So she now lives with Jake as his "daughter", met Erek, went for her first day at school, hung out with Marco, met a blind girl named Kym, made Kym an Animorph, fought Taylor, ran off, returned, and went to the mall…well, the three went as identical triplets, with Jake feeling horribly uncomfortable the entire time. Then Visser One shows up with his cronies, and all hell breaks loose. After a mild display of her abilities is caught on camera, Serenity decides to go with the Yeerks to meet their esteemed leader, Visser Four. V4 turns out to be a clone of Rachel who claims her loyalty lies with the Yeerks (as well as claiming that she _is_ one). Visser Four's new goal is to break Serenity's will. Where do Serenity's loyalties lie? And what in the world is V4 doing to Serenity?**

I lost all control of my body as Visser Four took over. Two had become one, and she was in charge.

Glad you noticed, she said privately. See, I may not be a Yeerk physically, but I can do the same thing they can. She laughed, watching my mind race to find a way to get rid of her and my sudden realization. Right. I don't have a three-day limit. I don't need Kandrona rays. My source of fuel is the food we consume together. 

No. This isn't possible. This isn't happening, I said silently, realizing that I truly was not in charge of my own body.

Yes, I am your master now. You are my host, my slave. I am going to show you why humans are inferior to us and that Jake isn't as nice as he seems. She paused for a moment. And I'm going to become Emperor. With you, I'm unstoppable. I can't believe you didn't see this coming. 

I couldn't believe it either. I mean, how else could she claim to be Yeerk? I don't think they take regular humans and make them Vissers, even if said humans are under the delusion that they are a slug. Why didn't I realize she had another trick up her sleeve?

Because you're stupid, she replied. Stupid, just like the rest of your species. 

You're contradicting yourself. You said I was different from other humans. Better. Now you're saying I'm one of them. 

I felt my expression change to a smirk. "I wasn't your master then. Now I see you for what you truly are. A silly little human girl with too much power. You should be glad I took over when I did. You could have done something that you'd regret for the rest of your life. I have a different connection to your body than you do. I can help you become stronger without harming anything. Let me help you," she said.

Become stronger? I could become stronger than I was?

"Yes," she replied immediately, reading my thoughts. "You have all of this untapped potential. Let me help you."

If she helped me, what would she want in return?

"It's simple. I help you, you help me become Emperor. It's a fair trade, I think."

A fair trade. How is it fair? 

"See, for me to become Emperor, I have to…eliminate a few of the other Vissers. And most of the Council. You want to get rid of Visser One, right?"

Yes. 

"And Taylor? Visser Two?"

We can do that? 

"Yes. We can do that. Only with your complete participation. If you choose not to help me, I'll have you killed and your friends made slaves of the Yeerk Empire. Makes for an easy decision, doesn't it?" She smirked as she found out what my answer was. "Fine. So be it."

**A/N: Sorry this one's short as well. I haven't gotten the hang of writing this fic yet. I will soon, I promise. Stay tuned for chapter sixteen!**


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